Faces of Faith: Priest marks 10th year at St. Billiart

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Father Steven Lanza, of St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church in Tinley Park. | File photo

Updated: January 24, 2012 8:00AM

What does he do?

As a young boy, Steven Lanza thought about becoming a priest, but it was not until his college years that he seriously considered a life in ministry.

He became a priest, and since 2001 Lanza has been the pastor of St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church at 7399 W. 159th St. in Tinley Park.

How did he get into his job?

“Like any Catholic boy of my age, I toyed with the idea of becoming a priest,” Lanza, who grew up in Dover, Ohio, said.

But it was while he was a student at Northwestern University in Evanston, Lanza said, that he really felt the calling to the priesthood.

“I was involved at the Newman Center on campus, and it was alive and vibrant,” Lanza said. “The two priests (at the center) were really good, and I thought being a priest was something I might want to do with my life.”

After graduating in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in political science, Lanza taught at a high school in Aurora for a year.

“After that year, I decided I’d try (the priesthood) and entered the seminary,” Lanza said. “My dad was not pleased with me at that point. He was hoping for grandkids.”

Lanza enrolled at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein in Mundelein, and earned his master of divinity in 1981.

That same year he was ordained at the university’s chapel by Cardinal John Cody. “It was the last class ordained by Cardinal Cody,” Lanza said.

After his ordination, he was assigned as the associate pastor at a church in Glenview. Later he served as the associate pastor at St. Michael’s in Orland Park and subsequently served as a pastor and administrator for a number of parishes in Chicago.

Then in February 2001, he was assigned as the pastor of St. Julie.

Lanza, who earned a Licentiate of Sacred Theology degree from St. Mary’s in 1982, is a co-author of the “Apprentices in Faith,” an online resource for people involved in adult initiation ministry.

As for his father, Lanza said his dad has warmed to the fact that he is a priest.

“He has seen how much I enjoy it,” Lanza said.

What’s the best part of the job?

“The best part is the variety,” he said. “It’s a large parish with a lot of ministries, and I’m asked to come in on different situations, and I really like that.”

What’s the worst part of the job?

“There’s not a particular aspect of the job that I don’t like or that is distasteful,” Lanza said. “Sometimes I just have to take a few hours for myself. Knowing everybody in the parish is a challenge. We’ve have 4,000 households (in the parish).”

What does he do for fun?

“I love to read a good novel, a mystery or science fiction. I enjoy the (Chicago) Blackhawks, when they’re winning. And I enjoy getting on the treadmill,” he said.

Lanza lives in the rectory behind the church.